I just made a pork meal that is VERY low in sodium, and we really liked it, so I put it in my cookbook and shared it. If you're interested, it's listed as pork, barbequed, low sodium. It's a crockpot recipe, but could be done in the oven.The sodium was 37mg/serving. I just checked and couldn't find the recipe in Spark Recipes, but I think it takes a while to show up. If anyone wants the recipe and can't find it, I'll put it here.

Welcome Jen! Sorry to hear of your health issues, though this is definitely a team who is here to help. We have a lot of wonderful and insightful memebers who are constantly on the look out for new ideas, products, etc. that are low sodium.

A recommended sodium intake for most people is 2300 mg of sodium per day, but that is based on a 2,000 calorie diet. We strive to keep somewhere between 1500 and 2000 mg a day, as a goal.

One of the best things to do is pre-plan your meals a day ahead of time and enter them into the tracker. That way you can see if you are about to go over on the sodium and tweak the meals to make your sodium a little lower for the day. The other really great thing to do is start reading every label as some things you wouldn't think has sodium in it, does!

Processed, canned, pre-packaged, frozen, convenience, breads, mixes, and so on....all have sodium. When watching calories, beware of the words Light and Lite in the title, as it usually means lower fat, cholesterol and carbs, but higher in sodium to make up for the lack of taste.

Cooking from scratch is a really great option where you can control the sodium content in food. Fresh herbs, salt substitutes, garlic, onion, peppers, carrots, and flavorful veggies are all great ways to season foods. There are a lot of great canned items out there that have no salt added, they are few and far between but some grocery stores are now carrying them, along with some health food stores and the internet.

Breads are an area where sodium is high and you wouldn't think it would be. But, there are other options, such as the no sodium breads and low sodium varities. Our store carries it in the freezer section, not the best tasting stuff in the world, but not bad. There is also a Peppridge Farm Light Style Bread, that is low carb and has one of the lowest sodium counts I have found for bread that is not half bad.

As for canned veggies, rinse them in a sieve under running water and that can help reduce anywhere from 40 to 50% of the sodium. In terms of meat, beef is not that big on salt, unless it is pre-made hamburger patties and such. Though chicken, turkey and pork sometimes have a water solution added to enhance flavor and it is loaded with sodium. The labels will reflect this addition.

I could keep going on and on about so many wonderful ways to cut salt, but need to go for now. There are a ton of great posts on here, so please feel free to check them out and jump right in with any thoughts, ideas, questions, suggestions, etc. when you feel ready. We look forwad to seeing you in the posts!

-Cindy- Member of Living Healthy with Insulin Resistance/Low GI Diet Team

Member of Lowering Salt Intake Team

The greatest success is the ability to rise from failure.

"All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them. " - Walt Disney

Jen, Some products with low sodium (look for "no salt added on the lable): Hunts tomatoes, Francesco Rinaldi spaghetti sauce, Hood cottage cheese, Goya beans. I hope some of these brands are available to you. I also buy dried beans and cook the whole package, then freeze them in 1 cup quantities. The health food stores carry no sodium baking powder (it's expensive).Bread is high in sodium, but our supermarket carries their own brand of low salt. I also bake my own and omit the salt.

In regards to the nutritional tracker. At the end of the day I always study it to see how I have done and if my sodium was a little more than I thought I can look back and see where. I have to weigh myself everyday for health reasons because if I have gained a few pounds overnight I can look back and see why. It is when I can't see why that I get scared.

The struggle to lower salt consumption is familiar to all of us trying for a more healthy lifestyle. The standard rules apply. Look for no salt added products. Rinse canned beans and veggies to remove some of the salt. Read the labels most of which lists the sodium content. Cut back on the seasoning packets included with some products. Cook from scratch whenever possible because then you know exactly what is in the dish. Read the many articles dealing with sodium you can find on the Sparks site. Don't forget that many condiments have a very high salt content. On and on!!! It gets easier as you go along. The Nutrition Tracker is a great help. Just don't let it overwhelm you. If we can help, just ask!

Hi, I'm Jen and have several issues with my health, like HBP, diabetes, and high cholesterol. So, I've been tracking my food intake and started to notice that I eat way more sodium than I thought. Trying to figure out what constitutes low-sodium and trying to limit the hidden salt. Thanks.

SparkPeople, SparkCoach, SparkPages, SparkPoints, SparkDiet, SparkAmerica, SparkRecipes, DailySpark, and other marks are trademarks of SparkPeople, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
SPARKPEOPLE is a registered trademark of SparkPeople, Inc. in the United States, European Union, Canada, and Australia. All rights reserved.

NOTE: Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy last updated on October 25, 2013